Elegant Events

This review is 8 months overdue but not from lack of love! Diane Allen and her team are without a doubt the most talented wedding visionaries ever. What she and Christine Cater created for my wedding day was just beyond. I still can’t believe the beauty and detail and joy Diane brought to the entire experience. EVERYTHING was perfect and captured me and my husband’s personality and «vision» (to the extent our conflicting and elaborate ideas can be called that) amazingly. 8 months later and I still have friends telling me it was the most beautiful wedding they’ve ever been to. I never felt pressured during the process to go in one direction or another and there was no request too out there. She also knows and has wonderful relationships with vendors throughout the area – something that is incredibly important if you are lucky enough to be a guest of Big Sur’s beautiful and tight-​knit community for your wedding without actually living there. She also truly believes in the magic of getting married, something that i was surprised to find made a huge difference on the day itself. My husband and I consider Diane a lifelong friend and will be eternally grateful for everything she did to make our wedding and the months leading up to it a complete joy.

If there is one quality I appreciate most in people, it is passion, and Diane Allen of Elegant Events is full of it. She absolutely loves what she does, and that shows in every conversation she has, vendor she partners with, and product she creates.
On our wedding day, when I arrived at Paion, I almost fell over. Diane and Christine of Christine Cater Flowers had transformed the venue into a magical wonderland. The colors, textures, flowers, and furniture came together like a dream that emerged from deep in my heart, and they were the fairy godmothers who brought it to life ten times more than I could have ever imagined.
Each of the vendors she suggested was superb: Christine, Feel Good Foods, Naked Soul (the BEST wedding band EVER!!!), and Edith Meyer Cakes.
When I told Diane, I hoped for a drum circle around the fire pit late night, she did not mess around. She got a team of real drummers from deep in the backwoods of Big Sur to come down and keep the party going. Drum circle, carnitas tacos, smores, and my brother’s friend’s moonshine — now that is a good late night!
Part of the reason I hired Diane was because she tells it like it is. She doesn’t sugar coat. I knew I needed to work with someone like that.
That is a day we will never get back. It is etched forever in our hearts as one that was as good as it gets… better than we ever thought was possible! What a beautiful way to start our marriage — with the seeds of it all being better than we ever thought was possible.
Thank you Diane and team for all of the heart you put into what you do!

We worked with Diane Allen and Elegant Events for our Big Sur wedding @ Wind & Sea July 26, 2014. It was truly the best day we could have imagined!
From the beginning Diane was extremely knowledgeable with Big Sur & Monterey vendors and we really appreciated how up front and honest she was every step of the way. Everyone she recommended to us was beyond reliable. That’s what you get with someone who has worked in Big Sur for YEARS. She will not recommend anyone that won’t deliver 150%. I really appreciated Diane’s «no surprises» approach to the budget as well. She’s so easy to get along with and I was happy to have someone I could no-​nonsense banter with and crack jokes while being able to totally depend on her. She’s hilarious.
Diane made our day run so smoothly that neither of us had to worry about a thing. I am a planner to a fault and it was really nice to just relax and enjoy our wedding day.
I cannot recommend Diane and her team enough! Jennifer we loved working with you too!

I can’t express how wonderful our wedding day was because of the hard work and efforts of Diane and her team. From day one, Diane was super responsive and very candid about all the details necessary in planning a wedding. Her recommendations were always spot on and she always took a personal stake in ensuring that we were happy and satisfied with the planning. Her sense of humor and enthusiasm made the whole planning process easy and enjoyable. After all of our planning, the actual wedding day turned out even better than I had expected.
Diane definitely knows Big Sur like the back of her hand and any bride wanting to get married in the absolutely gorgeous Big Sur should definitely give her a call!

I can’t express how wonderful Diane and her staff are! She made planning a wedding from southern california easy. She is honest and trustworthy. She knows all of the best vendors to work with and every suggestion was wonderful! She pays attention to every detail and took all of the stress off of me! It is obvious that she approaches every wedding as if it was her own. She will not let you have a bad wedding but more importantly will add something special to your experience. All of her staff were so nice and on top of things! Diane made sure we took care of things that I would have never thought of. The whole day ended up more amazing than I could have expected and I know that I owe that to Diane and her staff! Seriously wonderful at what she does!!!

We rolled the dice by booking our destination wedding in Big Sur without meeting Diane or visiting any of our locations. Diane not only delivered, but exceeded our expectations in every wedding planning category. Her knowledge of the area is second to none and she was very capable of meeting our budget requirements without cutting corners. Diane’s professionalism combined with her southern charm made it a fun an relaxing experience. You will not be disappointed going with this planner.

I cannot say enough to thank Diane Allen for the amazing work she did to put together my elopement. A couple of the local hotels in Big Sur offer elopement packages. We tried to work with one of the hotels, but the whole process was a nightmare. Diane came to the rescue. She is so open and friendly. We clicked with her right away, and we immediately felt comfortable trusting her with the details of our big day. She put together our elopement in exactly one week, and the whole process, including the day-​of, went without a hitch. Everything from the flowers, to the license, to the officiant was organized for us. She is an excellent communicator, and this really put us at ease. We loved each of the vendors that Diane recommended to us. All were professional, talented, and truly fun to work with. Because of Diane, my husband and I were really able to enjoy each other rather than divert our attention to coordinating our vendors. The whole day was stress free. That’s right, stress free! We have a larger vow renewal scheduled in 2014 at Paion, a private estate in Big Sur that Diane represents. After what Diane was able to put together for our elopement, I am really confident that our next «Big Day» will be just as wonderful as our first.

My company was hired to provide an elegant espresso bar for their daughters wedding. They hired Elegant Events to be the wedding planner and introduced us via email. From the very start Diane was a great communicator. She was detailed and very easy to work with. Her planning made our role very smooth. We provided an espresso bar and needed to move in during the wedding. Diane had everything necessary for us to be successful for our service.
The weddings elegance was like I’ve never seen before. She created an amazing ambiance and energy among the cliffs and big trees Big Sur offers at Paion. I highly recommend Elegant Events as your coordinator. I hope we will meet up with them at other events.

Wow! Where to begin with my appreciation and admiration of Diane Allen & her whole Elegant Events team… Diane was our wonderful wedding planner for my wedding last month at Paion in Big Sur — I can’t even begin to express with words how efficient, eloquent and proficient Diane is with her Event Planning — she made the whole process seamless and streamlined, and we couldn’t be more appreciative! (And, as you know, wedding planning is no simple task!)
In addition, just as a character reference — Diane might just be the most personable, down-​to-​earth and good-​spirited women that you will ever have the pleasure of meeting — my entire family adores her and are actually planning a return trip next year to beautiful Big Sur to reunion with Diane and her fabulous team.
I couldn’t recommend her more highly to facilitate your Event Planning! She was seriously the hero of our magical wedding weekend — thank you so much, Diane! :)
–Kate G.
*Please feel free to message me if I can provide you with any additional information about Diane & her amazing team!

Diane was fabulous! We had our wedding this past spring and she made it great. I would totally recommend Elegant Events.

Diane Allen/​Elegant Events is a must for those planning a wedding in the Big Sur/​Monterey Peninsula area. Her expertise in planning, as well as knowledge of the area brings together the most perfect wedding event. Our wedding was not a large one, but instead a private ceremony intended for our closest family and friends. Although small this took much coordination and planning. Diane’s expertise in finding the perfect venue for us– a BEAUTIFUL private estate, alongside the beach and gorgeous mountain views could not have been more of a perfect setting for our day. From the initial phone call inquiry I made until the very last moment of our dinner reception, everything came together smoothly, flawlessly and was an event that our family’s still speak of. Her creativity and professionalism combine for an amazing special and very auspicious event for any couple. I absolutely highly recommend. Many many thanks, Diane. We are always so grateful to you and your team!